After the arrival of the Coronavirus, the world has seen just how important cleanliness and hygiene is. Everyone experienced how just a little ignorance in cleanliness could lead to fatalities and spread. We also saw how dependent businesses and operations are on their cleaning and janitorial staff. The janitors and cleaners are the ones who risk their lives and clean the workplace so that you and I can be safe and free from germs and viruses. But in order to clean the space properly and to combat the dirt and impurities your janitorial staff and cleaners need to be better-equipped than before and must have all the tools and gear.
They should have the right tools, equipment, cleaning products and the right house cleaning and janitorial uniforms to enable them to perform their duties easily and with 100% accuracy.
The Items you need
Janitorial supplies are basically categorized into three main categories which are tools, garments, and cleaning products. The exact products that you need might depend on your specific cleaning requirements and the place you are looking to clean. For instance, if you want to clean a closed office space the cleaning supplies you require will be different to the ones to a warehouse or a storage unit or maybe hospital. Nonetheless the essential materials more or less largely remain the same.
1. The Cleaning Tools
Cleaning Tools are the most basic items that every janitor or cleaner needs. These tools are simply the essentials of their arsenal. The items that are absolute essentials are:
a cart, cleaning brushes, gloves, sponges, towels, pans, brooms and more.
When choosing cleaning towels and mops, you’ve simply got to get both, dry and wet. This combination of mops and towels allows your janitors and cleaners to clean the different spaces properly. Remember to include microfibers in your shopping list as well. We feel that microfibers are simply a must have item and should always be readily available to your cleaning staff. Why microfibers? It’s simply because they are highly effective at cleaning. Their quick-drying property, easy maintenance and durability make them one of the best. Because of their unique surface (that grips onto materials) gets rid of tough stains and marks with ease leaving the surface spic and span.
Other essential janitorial items include:
- A good quality, lightweight and smooth cleaning cart (The size depends on the type of workspace and tools required for the cleaning job)
- Multiple brushes (different thickness and sizes)
- Cleaning Towels (of various thickness and sizes)
- Mops (that wick away moisture effectively)
- Buckets (preferably large sized so that the janitor can mix different solutions and chemicals with ease)
- Sponges (to soak up excess wetness or to clean surfaces that require a wet soft touch)
- Squeegee (to clean windows and places with glass surfaces with ease)
- Brooms (light dusting brooms as well as thick)
A lot of businesses have different cleaning needs. For example, cleaning in a hospital would be absolutely different to the cleaning required in a factory. Everything would be different, and so the cleaning of both the spaces would require different cleaning tools to get the job done.
If you know exactly what tools will make your janitor’s job easier, you can shop smart and purchase the right tools. You should always be smart and take the janitors opinion under consideration. They are the ones who know about what is required. Talk to your staff and ask how you could help them out. Discuss their needs and try to take thins under consideration. Not only will this improve the quality of cleaning that is being done, but will keep also make your janitors and cleaning staff feel important. Their performance will increase while helping you save money as you will not overspend and will get the exact items that are needed.
2. Janitorial Uniforms
When you talk about janitors and cleaning staff, protective clothing is the most important thing that keeps them safe and functional at the same time. Your cleaning and janitorial staff should have the right masks, shoes, safety goggles and janitorial uniforms. The uniforms offer an increased level of protection while they do their jobs. The right house cleaning uniform is typically a coverall (it can be either long-sleeved or short sleeved). It is usually lightweight, water-resistant and keeps the clothing inside clean. The coveralls and overalls are 100% designed for functionality. They have added pockets and loops so that the janitors and staff can keep their tools and necessary items with themselves at all times. The cleaning staff uniforms are made out of breathable materials that aid your crew and keeps them cool and dry even when they are working in tough conditions. You should also take care that the janitorial uniforms you buy are highly flexible. This will help your cleaning team be comfortable and work in tricky spaces with comfort.
Some other uniform options you should include are:
- Gloves (rubber gloves so that harmful acids and cleaning material do not harm the staff’s hands)
- Masks (to protect them from harmful fumes and dust)
- Janitorial Uniforms (to protect the janitor’s clothes and give them utility to carry multiple tools and equipment all at once)
3. Cleaning chemicals and detergents
Detergents and cleaning chemicals are simply the most important articles and are a must-have. Your staff cannot clean and sanitize places and workspaces if they don’t have the correct detergents and cleaning chemicals and liquids. Some essentials are multipurpose cleaner, disinfectants, bleaches, surfs, soaps and even cleaning acids for those tough gunky stains that do not come off with regular cleaning. You might also need area-specific cleaners. These cleaners include polishes for different surfaces (glass, wood and etc.) and glass cleaners to make those windows and tables glint. Include deodorizers and fresheners as well. These help your team making the space smell fresh. They come in handy mostly in toilets or spaces that are stuffy and confined.
Janitorial products include:
- Disinfectant (perfect to remove different surfaces of viruses and bacteria)
- Bleaches (to remove tough stains from cloths and other materials)
- Multipurpose Cleaner (typically for cleaning getting rid or bacteria from various surfaces. Mostly used on floors(tiled))
- Floor Cleaner (helps you clean the floor and keep it spic and span)
- Furniture polish (preserves and cleans furniture and makes them looking fresh and new for longer)
- Glass/Window Cleaner (to clean glass and mirrored surfaces)
- Paper Products (napkins, tissues and other paper based materials that come in handy while cleaning various spaces)
- Soaps (helps in cleaning various equipment and surfaces)
- Sanitizers (disinfects surfaces and helps get rid of various viruses and bacteria, especially the Coronavirus)
- Air Fresheners and deodorizers (helps keep the spaces smelling fresh and pleasant)
Author Bio:
Johnny Roy works as a Marketing executive at ApparelnBags. He has a keen interest in digital marketing and learning new trends.
He loves traveling, exploring new places, photography, public speaking and likes to blog about his experiences.
